Deadly Fire Started By Child Playing With Matches: Cops

The house fire that claimed the life of a little girl last week was started by a younger brother who was playing with matches, police said.

Firefighters found 7-year-old Mia Sykes unconscious in her Dover Street home the morning of June 19. Mia was taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center but pronounced dead in the emergency room just hours after arriving.

Firefighters responding to the blaze reportedly found Mia’s mother outside the burning house. She told them her daughter was still inside.

A police report referred to the deadly blaze as an arson but the matter has been reclassified as accidental.